Business: Jumbo and the Gremlins

Pan American executives knew that they would run into all sorts of
problems in getting their 747 jumbo jets through what airmen call a new
plane's "learning curve," and they tried to anticipate as many as
possible (TIME cover, Jan. 19). But a variety of major and minor
difficulties, some of which could hardly have been anticipated, last
week turned the 747's first commercial flight from New York to London
into an alternately frustrating and funny experience for the 352
passengers.

Engine Trouble. First off, the main portside door in the forward
economy-class cabin refused to close. Operated by compressed air,...